the 'there's no such thing as a stupid question' bike maintenance thread

Lubed the thru axle threads, took it out for a 20 mile spin. Still has a creak, but I can't replicate it. Seems completely random, and also definitely seems to be coming from the stem area. Had a bit of a look, and I think I have a suspect.

When I got the bike, one of the first things I did was flip the stem. Looking at it, I made the rookie mistake (in my excitement) of unevenly tightening the stem bolts at the handlebar. This meant that the gap at the top of the "face plate" (?) was much smaller than the gap at the bottom.

I've evened that out, now, so if I can get out for a spin tomorrow, we'll see

Not a maintenance question but ebike question. Recently bought an e-bike and worried about taking it out in this heatwave. And storing it outside all day in direct sunlight. Should I take the battery out when locked at work (work is a safe place and won't get stolen). But can't imagine heat being any good on the bike all day.

I picked up a second hand bike to see if I will take to this cycling malarky. Been getting used to the bike as very different to my usual beater for tipping around locally on. Did a baseline test last week and I'm crap but it was the first real proper test on the bike.

Its a Plant X Nanolight 920 running SRAM Force groupset with Fulcrum Racing 400 wheels. So its a very nice build and figured for the price I couldn't go wrong really. It needs a tune up and I think I might get a new chain while I am at it. Now bear in mind I don't know much about bike maintenance but wouldn't be a novice spanner spinner. So I'm thinking a strip and very thorough clean and degrease of all components. Relube all bearings etc, new cables and shrouds all round and a reset of all the components.

Is that something I should attempt myself or should I just pay a pro to do it. I have decent tools and do most of the work on my hobby cars but as I said bikes are a new field. The reason I'd do it myself is that I would get to know the bike properly and makes ongoing maintenance and repairs much handier. If doing myself is there any good youtube vids on how to do etc that you'd recommend?

Pic for ref:

Go for it. The best resource (of many, many on YouTube) is the Park Tools channel. Videos of pretty much any job you might want to do.

The only thing that might hold you back is that there are some bike specific tools you might not have. Personally, I look at this as an opportunity to buy more tools...

Ultegra crank issue was attributed to water vapour ingress rather than water ingress so dry weather cycling won’t prevent it happening. There was a tendency for it to happen more so in more humid climate but given air always has moisture in it then it’s only a matter of time really.

By the way I had a similar problem on the power stroke that I swore was BB related. Turned out to be a loose bolt on one of the chainstay connections.

I also get it if wheel skewers are too tight.

This did not solve the creak.

I have an idea though. I think it could be the bung in the steerer tube needs tightening. I'll check it out tomorrow.

On a separate note, I've no idea how long I'll keep the tubeless setup (depends on how much of a faff it is), but the Panaracer tyres I had with tubes on the old bike definitely feel more "cushy" set up tuebless on the new bike

Hi

i have a 6870 di2 setup. Went away for 10 days and left bike in the shed with about 60% left on the battery. Wasn’t too surprised that it may have gone flat in that time so went to charge it and nada. No lights on the charger. No gear movement. Nothing. Is there anyway to revive it? It’s only about 18 months old. Bike wasn’t moved or and nothing knocked against it. Any ideas?

I’ve taken the battery out and reset the cable. No moisture in there. I’m snookered with E-TUBE as I run a Mac and the VM stuff scares me!! Don’t have a wireless dongle to connect via a phone.

Not a maintenance question. But recently took up a new job with a bit of a trek. The cycle isn't bad. But longer than what I'm used to. The mornings are quite getting into work. But coming home feels like I'm stuck in a circus with drivers/cars/buses doing whatever the hell they want.

My safety comes first and unfortunately a different route isn't an option at the moment because of roadworks and a blocked road. Coming home makes me feel so stressed on the bike and it shouldn't be like this at all. Not sure what to do. But I'm considering getting a camera. Not sure what it will do but to have recording and proof if something happens might help. So when it comes to safety and ignorant drivers, I don't want to put a limit on how much to spend on a very good camera. So does anyone have any recommendations for a camera?

As I mentioned above - I've been pricing cables, shrouds, chain etc. Should I use a LBS or go online. Have most of teh stuff in a cart on bike24 at the moment. Are the decent or any other recommendations?